Ascent of Green Mountain on 2013-06-10

Ascent Trip Report

I left the house at 5:00 AM, June 10, 2013 with my dog Daisy to hike 2 peaks in Northern New Mexico. The first peak was Green Mountain, elevation 11,165 and the second peak Agua Fria, elevation 11,078. You can drive to the top of Green Mountain, but I like to try to get in at least 3 miles on a peak. From Eagle Nest head east into Cimarron Canyon by way of highway 64. As soon as you are in the canyon the road makes a big switchback. On the north end are 2 dirt roads together, veer to the one to the right and head up the mountain. I have been up in this area before and the road has improved some, but still looks like it needs a 4WD. I stopped the car on the road when the GPS said 1.1 miles to the peak and the elevation was 10,150. It was a perfect temperature as I started hiking at 9:00 AM, not too cool and not too warm. The road switch backed so the hike ended up being 2.2 miles and it only took 52 minutes. The top is covered with antennas. I took a few pictures and headed down. The entire hike followed the road. I arrived back at the SUV after hiking a total of 4.5 miles in a little less than 2 hours total time.

It was now 11:00 AM. I got packed up and headed to Agua Fria Peak. I drove to the center of Angel Fire and turn right on the street Vail. Vail turns into El Camino Real and you want to try to stay on that as best as possible but there are so many roads it becomes confusing and I found it became a trial and error to get as close as possible. I really enjoyed the drive from Angel Fire studying the many beautiful mountain homes. You don’t need 4WD for this peak. Finally near the top, 1.3 miles to the peak I came to a locked gate. It took an hour and 40 minutes from the last hike to get to the starting point. I did not want to go through the gate or down the road so I bushwhacked another way. I had to climb over many fallen logs. My starting elevation was 10,825. It felt like nearly a flat hike, yet difficult because of the many trees. There were lots of old forest roads cutting this way and that and it made it a little easier. I arrived at the peak after 1.7 miles in 47 minutes. It is so tree covered and flat you would never know you were at the top if it were not for the GPS. Bring an extra set of batteries or 2 because if the GPS goes out you are very likely lost. I have never felt this way in New Mexico before but it is so flat and densely tree covered with MANY forest roads it would be tough to get back to your vehicle without good compass skills or a working GPS. My path back was better than the path to the peak. I arrived back at the SUV after hiking 3.4 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. My total hiking distance for the 2 peaks was 7.9 miles. As I was leaving I saw 2 deer near the road. The drive home was 4 hours completing a big loop by way of Las Vegas, NM to the Albuquerque area. I spent way too much time in the SUV hiking these 2 peaks, 9 hours and 40 minutes of drive time….too much!!

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/longPeaks: climbed and unclimbed by Phil RobinsonClick Here for a Full Screen MapNote: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO responsibility or liability from use of this data.